My Review of Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

The Wolfenstein series is considered The Godfather of FPS games and The new colossus is the latest installment in the series. I just finished this game a few days ago and I have to say “Wow! it was amazing!” This is yet another game that surpasses it predecessor.

Now before you play this game, I’m going to give you a heads up. There are several parts in the game that might be disturbing to some people and parts that might offend some people, so if you are easily disturbed or offended you might want to steer clear of this game or play with caution.

Just like it’s prequels “the new order” and “the old blood”, the story is alternate history. In the game’s timeline, the nazis managed to win WWII after they uncovered a secret ancient vault that contained advanced technological inventions by a fictional secret Hebrew society(very ironic) called “da’at Yichud” that had connections to Sumeria. The nazis reversed engineered the technology to create advanced weaponry to overpower the allied forces. The nazis occupied most of the world, with the exceptions of Japan and China which remained independent but powerless to oppose the global Nazi regime. This game takes place mostly in 1961 Nazi occupied US and the main protagonist is William Blaskowicz who must help start a uprising to liberate America. Blaskowicz has always been the protagonist in the series.

1.) Combat

Most of the game involves a lot of combat. The player can choose to either take the tactical(stealth) approach or go in “guns blazing”. Just like it’s predecessors(the new order, the old blood) the player can duel wield weapons, however a new feature is that the player can mix and match for example a smg on one hand and a pistol on the other. The player can also take down most enemies that get to close with a hatchet. The combat is definitely improved due to smarter enemy AI and because the weapons have better designs, mechanics and are upgradable.

2.) Stealth

If the player isn’t too good at good old fashion FPS games, the player has the option of taking out enemies one by one. The player has a hatchet that allows the player to either throw it at unsuspecting enemies or get up close to the enemy and silently take the enemy out in a brutal manner. The player also has silenced weapons that the player can use to take out unsuspecting enemies from a distance.

3.) Amazing story

The main aspect that makes Wolfenstein a great series is it’s story. This specific game has very likeable characters and it is very detailed when exploring the background of the main characters. There is a lot of cinematics throughout the game that give suspense, tension and other emotions to the player.

4.) Physics

This game has great physics, such as improved rag doll, degrading cover, realistic character movement, realistic first person mechanics and high quality gore.

5.) Graphics

The graphics are also very good. The facial expressions of the characters are realistic and their textures are also very realistic.

6.) Nazis are actually nazis

The common flaw of a bunch of Video games that have Nazi bad guys is that they downplay the evil of the nazis. Some games go even as far as censoring their Nazism and simply refer to them as “the Germans”. The only sign they are the bad guys in those games is that they are trying to kill the player.

In Wolfenstein 2: the new colossus, the developers didn’t censor or sugarcoat the nazi antagonists, Throughout the game you can eavesdrop on conversations between Nazi soldiers as they constantly boast about racial superiority and read texts about what is going on in this alternate history world. The developers even did a good job in making it clear that not all Germans support nazism by putting in some friendly Germans that are allies to the protagonist. Also, even though the Wehrmacht are briefly mentioned, none of the enemies are Wehrmacht, they are all Waffen SS or some fictional Nazi military branch.

7.) Covers touchy topics

As I mentioned, this game features things that may cause discomfort in people who are sensitive. Racism, slavery, persecution, oppression, nazism, subtle pro and anti communism etc are part of the story. No matter what your political views and or views on society are, if you are too sensitive, you may feel uneasy by what you see in the game. The one thing many people where worried about is where does communism fit into the game, I’m not going to spoil it for you but all I can tell you is that the protagonist isn’t a communist so don’t worry.

8.) Exceptional voice acting

The voice acting on this game is phenomenal. Listening to the character dialogue, I can tell they hired great voice actors to voice the games characters. The German speaking characters actually speak real German instead of the faux German you hear in some other games.

9.) Sandbox

While it’s not exactly a open world game, it is sandbox because the player has the option of doing side missions and revisiting areas. After the player completes the game, the player can continue playing in order to complete any side missions they may have missed by revisiting previously cleared areas as many times they want similar to the video game “destroy all humans” in which the player selects the location from their home base on a map.

10.) Difficulties

There are 6 starting difficulties in the game with 7th difficulty unlockable after completing the game. I completed the game on the hardest difficulty and it was very challenging which made the game very enjoyable.

11.) Interesting characters

There is a large cast of characters in this game that are ethnically diverse, have interesting personalities and backstories.

12.) Replay worthy

It’s not common you find a single player game that is worth replaying like a RPG game. However, this game is definitely worth replaying especially since there are two different timelines you can choose.

13.) DLC?

Yes, there are several confirmed DLC released scheduled to be released throughout the coming months. Those who preordered the game got a free access to the first minor DLC called “episode zero” where the player gets to play 3 intro missions for the three protagonists of the upcoming DLCs. Which is very exciting.

14.) Alternate history, different outcomes

Due to it taking place in a alternate 1960s world, many things are different. The beetles are called “die Käfer”, Neil Armstrong didn’t land on the moon but Hans armstark did and many other changes. These are neat little features.

15.) Neat merchandise

Due to it being a very popular game, lots of merchandise was released alongside the game such as shirts, coffee mugs and even a collectors edition of the game that came with a action figure of the protagonist.

Overall I think it is the best sci fi FPS game of this decade. I give it a 10/10 rating, this is the perfect example of masterpiece art.

The tradition of the Klan wearing hoods predated WWII by many many years. The alternative history starts at the end of WWII. By this time it is part of their tradition, costume, uniform... even though they don't need to hide it.